Jeremiah 39:11-12 (NLT) King Nebuchadnezzar had told Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, to find Jeremiah. “See that he isn’t hurt,” he said. “Look after him well, and give him anything he wants.”

The people of Judah, having rejected all of God's warnings through the Prophet Jeremiah about their sin, finally wound up being either killed or exiled to Babylon. It had been a very difficult and dangerous road for Jeremiah, because the people not only didn't listen to him at all but also wanted to kill him because they did not like what he was saying. They refused to believe his words that were directly from the Lord and instead chose to believe the false prophets that were telling them that all would be well. The leaders finally convinced King Zedekiah to allow them to kill him. But cowards that they were, they didn't have the nerve to kill him with their own hands but instead put him in an empty cistern that had a thick layer of mud at the bottom. They lowered him into the cistern and he sank into the mud and they left him there to die a slow death, without food or water. But God put it in the heart of an Ethiopian official to plead to the king for Jeremiah's life. The king gave in and allowed Jeremiah to be pulled out, but only to be returned to the palace prison where he had been.

The Lord had told Jeremiah that he would protect his life. So why were these things happening to him? While the Lord told him that He would save his life, He didn't tell him that he wouldn't go through some hardships. Life is full of hardships and the Lord uses them in our lives to form Christ in our hearts. The Lord was watching over Jeremiah the whole time. He immediately sent the Ethiopian to save him from the cistern, and the jail that he happened to be in was a palace that had been turned into a prison. In other words, it wasn't the usual dirty rotten dungeon that prisons were known to be back then. Then we see God's hand again in Jeremiah's life when the prophesies that Jeremiah had made to the people finally came to pass and disaster befell the people of Judah. We see the king of Babylon, a pagan and ruthless conqueror inquiring about Jeremiah.

This king who had conquered many nations was concerned about the prophet of God! He wanted to make sure that he was okay and wanted to be sure that he was taken care of. It would be hard to understand why such a hardened king like Nebuchadnezzar would care about anyone, let alone a prophet that was rejected by his own people and who was thrown in prison. But this just goes to show that when the Lord says that He will watch over you, He will definitely watch over you! Nothing can come against what God wants to do and that includes taking care of you and me. Nothing or no one can stand in His way of doing that. Not even the mightiest king in all the world at that time could. And how did God accomplish taking care of Jeremiah through Nebuchadnezzar? He did it by turning the king's heart to look very favorably on Jeremiah. The Bible says that God holds the heart of the king in His hand and that He can turn it any which way He wants to (Proverbs 21:1). He certainly did it here. Jeremiah would be taken care of extremely well, unlike the people who tried to do him harm. The next time you are in a tight spot or are in deep trouble, remember that God, who has promised to protect you, will absolutely not fail in doing that. He will use any means necessary, even using people and circumstances that you never would have dreamed would be able to be used to deliver you of your trouble. Trust God with all of your heart and believe and rest on His promises. He always keeps them and He will always deliver you, even through unexpected means!

Pastor Joey Vazquez